Behave, We Have Brought Two Down, ISI Men Told Indian Diplomats After February 27 Dogfight

A Pakistani police officer stands guard with a worker of a religious group at a mosque in Islamabad on Wednesday. Indian diplomats and other staff members are facing harassment in Islamabad at the hands of ISI. 2 Indian officers, on their way to an embassy on Feb 28, were tailed aggressively before they were intercepted by Pak officials

India protested 2 other incidents of harassment both of which took place the same day

NEW DELHI: A day after the India-Pak aerial dogfight which led to the capture of Indian pilot and wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman , Indian diplomats and other staff members faced harassment in Islamabad at the hands of ISI.

Two Indian officers, on their way to an embassy in the diplomatic enclave on February 28 in an Indian high commission car, were tailed aggressively before they were intercepted by Pakistan security agency officials in the middle of the road.

Speaking angrily, according to a formal protest lodged by India with the Pakistan foreign ministry, one of them told the Indian officers, "We have taken 2 of you down and you people are creating problems and not behaving".

Pakistan had on February 27 claimed to have shot down 2 Indian aircraft and captured the pilots. It later turned out to be only 1 aircraft and pilot.

India's protest in the form of a note verbale, mentioned how Pakistani vehicles "zigzagged" around the Indian high commission car before finally overtaking and halting it.

The government's protest came even as India officially announced Wednesday that the first meeting between India and Pakistan to finalise the modalities for Kartarpur Corridor would be held at Attari-Wagah (Indian side) on March 14. India also proposed that a technical level discussion on the alignment of the corridor be held on the same day on the sidelines of this meeting.

In the same note verbale, India protested 2 other incidents of harassment both of which took place the same day. In one of these incidents, 2 other Indian officers were again aggressively followed before they were intercepted and photographed repeatedly in "an intimidating manner".

In the third incident, another Indian officer, while on his way to a market, was followed by an ISI official on a motorbike "within a distance of 10 metres".

"Such incidents of harassment of family members of diplomats are in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.The esteemed ministry may kindly note that the safety and security of Indian high commission, its officers, staff members and their families is the responsibility of the government of Pakistan," said India's protest note, while requesting the Pakistan foreign ministry to probe all 3 incidents and share the outcome with Indian officials.

India and Pakistan are hoping though that the Kartarpur meeting will help de-escalate tensions. Pakistan's decision to send a delegation and India's response Wednesday is being seen as a positive development by diplomats on both sides.

India said in its statement that its decision to go ahead with the Kartarpur Initiative was in keeping with the earlier decision to operationalise the Kartarpur Corridor on the occasion of the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji and meet the "long pending public demand to have easy and smooth access to the holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib".